Courtney Lee Shutting Down Ray Allen

[Jon]

I also think that if Miami goes small in such a lineup (Chalmers, Ray, Wade, James, Bosh), PP is going to destroy Wade on offense.  That's a matchup that's already being overlooked.

I would expect D-Wade to be on Jeff Green. For Miami to keep LeBron on Pierce in that lineup.

Pierce could certainly annihilate Wade in the low post, mid-post and elbow areas. Boston could run their entire offense through Pierce in that matchup if they so wished.

I think Jeff Green is more of a question mark. He has a good post game and would certainly have some joy down low against Wade. But does Jeff Green score frequently enough and efficiently enough to take the ball out of Rondo's hands? Maybe. Does Jeff Green score (and/or pass) well enough to make himself the primary option offensively for Boston? To run their offense through him in the post.

I think if you are Miami you take your chances with that (J.Green as Boston's best offensive option) instead of letting Pierce pummel Wade.

That's probably right and I agree we don't know the answer to that yet. 

However, I think Green has the potential to do it.  And it really would be a huge mismatch, as Wade is probably generously listed at 6-4.  It really could be interesting running post plays for him, as Pierce and KG could really draw LeBron and Bosh far away from the rim (or make them pay for not following). 

We'll have to see what Green looks like though.  While I make no promises about how much he'll improve from a talent perspective, I think even if he comes back at his OKC level, he can have more success here playing next to a PG like Rondo and in an offense where the ball isn't dominated by one (or two) scorers. 

[Interceptor]

Jeff Green has a legit post game. When people talk about his dubious play at PF, its from a defensive and rebounding perspective, not offense. You saw some flashes of it when he was with us the second half of the 2010-11 season.

[guava_wrench]

Can we ban this dude already? All he does is troll for Ray Allen. Don't take his bait, anyone.

Come on. Its fun, especially to debate.

Without it, it gets boring.

I have to agree that the original post is hilarious.

No worse than the "Stern is evil" trolls.

[pearljammer10]

lol....yeah, Lee (and BOS) had better watch out for Ray. He is still a dangerous threat.

With that being said, though - I feel we'll be ready for him and MIA.

When it all comes down to it - it will be LEBRON that HAS to beat BOS - Wade, while still a great player - will have his hands a bit full with AB.

Ray Allen won't be allowed to do it, no matter how many plays Spo tries to run for him.

Bosh, while talented, will have to deal with multiple bigs in Green this time around - not just KG and Bass.

Ray Allen won't be defeating BOS by himself, nor will he be allowed to be much of a factor. BOS will know where he's at at ALL times on the floor.

LeBron is a very good passer and facilitator, but he ain't Larry or Magic.

We'll be fine vs MIA.

I love how Avery Bradley is already being counted upon to single handedly stop one of the worlds top ten players... Lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

lol....yeah, Lee (and BOS) had better watch out for Ray. He is still a dangerous threat.

With that being said, though - I feel we'll be ready for him and MIA.

When it all comes down to it - it will be LEBRON that HAS to beat BOS - Wade, while still a great player - will have his hands a bit full with AB.

Ray Allen won't be allowed to do it, no matter how many plays Spo tries to run for him.

Bosh, while talented, will have to deal with multiple bigs in Green this time around - not just KG and Bass.

Ray Allen won't be defeating BOS by himself, nor will he be allowed to be much of a factor. BOS will know where he's at at ALL times on the floor.

LeBron is a very good passer and facilitator, but he ain't Larry or Magic.

We'll be fine vs MIA.

I love how Avery Bradley is already being counted upon to single handedly stop one of the worlds top ten players... Lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

like someone said before, those types of players can't be stopped but lessening their production can be done, consistently.

[mgent]

Just look at Rondo giving Ray these shots. And yet he hates playing with him? C'mon now. Does he hate that Rondo, the PG is telling him what to do?

Yeah, I still feel like that was way overblown.

Ray was responsible for the highest percentage of Rondo's assists, Shaq's probably been the only one close.

I have faith he can still lead the league, but he's gonna have to work harder for them as Pierce and KG prefer to go 1 on 1 or grab the assist themselves.

[GreenFaith1819]

lol....yeah, Lee (and BOS) had better watch out for Ray. He is still a dangerous threat.

With that being said, though - I feel we'll be ready for him and MIA.

When it all comes down to it - it will be LEBRON that HAS to beat BOS - Wade, while still a great player - will have his hands a bit full with AB.

Ray Allen won't be allowed to do it, no matter how many plays Spo tries to run for him.

Bosh, while talented, will have to deal with multiple bigs in Green this time around - not just KG and Bass.

Ray Allen won't be defeating BOS by himself, nor will he be allowed to be much of a factor. BOS will know where he's at at ALL times on the floor.

LeBron is a very good passer and facilitator, but he ain't Larry or Magic.

We'll be fine vs MIA.

I love how Avery Bradley is already being counted upon to single handedly stop one of the worlds top ten players... Lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

like someone said before, those types of players can't be stopped but lessening their production can be done, consistently.

Exactly.

Which is what I expect a healthy Avery Bradley to do to most opposing guards out there.

[BballTim]

Just look at Rondo giving Ray these shots. And yet he hates playing with him? C'mon now. Does he hate that Rondo, the PG is telling him what to do?

Yeah, I still feel like that was way overblown.

Ray was responsible for the highest percentage of Rondo's assists, Shaq's probably been the only one close.

I have faith he can still lead the league, but he's gonna have to work harder for them as Pierce and KG prefer to go 1 on 1 or grab the assist themselves.

  KG has as many of his baskets assisted as Ray did.

[GreenFaith1819]

Ray Allen won't be defeating BOS by himself, nor will he be allowed to be much of a factor. BOS will know where he's at at ALL times on the floor.

A large part of Ray's value in Boston (and in Miami) is that you have to know where he is at all times, which limits a team's ability to double team other players, and helps space the floor. It worked in Boston and it will work in Miami. If you had the choice between having a player help on a LeBron drive or sticking with Ray, which do you choose? I think most teams are going to opt for the former and leave Ray with open shot after open shot. He won't beat a team by himself, but he will help his team, which is kind of the point of basketball.

I'm sure that Ray Allen will help MIA. But I'm also pretty sure that he won't help them get by BOS, as we are presently constructed now.

I really believe that BOS now has the pieces to get by MIA.

As great a player as LeBron is right now, he needed some unusual shots being made by Chris Bosh and a performance in game 6 that was unlike ANY I've ever seen in my life to beat BOS.

We won't see those kind of games from LeBron ever again.

And this was done without AB, Jeff Green, or Wilcox - all of whom played rather well and crucial minutes for BOS last season.

Like I said earlier - no matter how much Ray Allen will help MIA - the pieces that BOS now have makes them better than MIA I believe.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Ray Allen won't be defeating BOS by himself, nor will he be allowed to be much of a factor. BOS will know where he's at at ALL times on the floor.

A large part of Ray's value in Boston (and in Miami) is that you have to know where he is at all times, which limits a team's ability to double team other players, and helps space the floor. It worked in Boston and it will work in Miami. If you had the choice between having a player help on a LeBron drive or sticking with Ray, which do you choose? I think most teams are going to opt for the former and leave Ray with open shot after open shot. He won't beat a team by himself, but he will help his team, which is kind of the point of basketball.

I'm sure that Ray Allen will help MIA. But I'm also pretty sure that he won't help them get by BOS, as we are presently constructed now.

I really believe that BOS now has the pieces to get by MIA.

As great a player as LeBron is right now, he needed some unusual shots being made by Chris Bosh and a performance in game 6 that was unlike ANY I've ever seen in my life to beat BOS.

We won't see those kind of games from LeBron ever again.

And this was done without AB, Jeff Green, or Wilcox - all of whom played rather well and crucial minutes for BOS last season.

Like I said earlier - no matter how much Ray Allen will help MIA - the pieces that BOS now have makes them better than MIA I believe.

I agree until here... the only one who played crucial minutes for us last season was AB b/c Wilcox and Jeff were out with surgeries on their heart, Wilcox played little and it was very early into the season, when we stunk as a team...

[GreenFaith1819]

Ray Allen won't be defeating BOS by himself, nor will he be allowed to be much of a factor. BOS will know where he's at at ALL times on the floor.

A large part of Ray's value in Boston (and in Miami) is that you have to know where he is at all times, which limits a team's ability to double team other players, and helps space the floor. It worked in Boston and it will work in Miami. If you had the choice between having a player help on a LeBron drive or sticking with Ray, which do you choose? I think most teams are going to opt for the former and leave Ray with open shot after open shot. He won't beat a team by himself, but he will help his team, which is kind of the point of basketball.

I'm sure that Ray Allen will help MIA. But I'm also pretty sure that he won't help them get by BOS, as we are presently constructed now.

I really believe that BOS now has the pieces to get by MIA.

As great a player as LeBron is right now, he needed some unusual shots being made by Chris Bosh and a performance in game 6 that was unlike ANY I've ever seen in my life to beat BOS.

We won't see those kind of games from LeBron ever again.

And this was done without AB, Jeff Green, or Wilcox - all of whom played rather well and crucial minutes for BOS last season.

Like I said earlier - no matter how much Ray Allen will help MIA - the pieces that BOS now have makes them better than MIA I believe.

I agree until here... the only one who played crucial minutes for us last season was AB b/c Wilcox and Jeff were out with surgeries on their heart, Wilcox played little and it was very early into the season, when we stunk as a team...

Good point, ImShak - forgot about Jeff Green. And it seemed as if Wilcox was playing rather well right up until he had his heart condition, which was early on in the season.

I still believe that Wilcox and Jeff would've helped us vs MIA, though. Jeff would've been another player to throw at LeBron and he's long and athletic enough to guard Bosh as well.

[CelticG1]

Just look at Rondo giving Ray these shots. And yet he hates playing with him? C'mon now. Does he hate that Rondo, the PG is telling him what to do?

Yeah, I still feel like that was way overblown.

Ray was responsible for the highest percentage of Rondo's assists, Shaq's probably been the only one close.

I have faith he can still lead the league, but he's gonna have to work harder for them as Pierce and KG prefer to go 1 on 1 or grab the assist themselves.

  KG has as many of his baskets assisted as Ray did.

Yeah and o believe Bass has never scored a bucket that wasn't an assist from Rondo.

Didn't Rondos assists go up when Ray was injured during that historical streak? I expect Rondo to get even more next year if its even possible with faster pace and a few guys who can run on the break like Bradley, Lee, Green, Wilcox and even Terry

No matter who Rondo plays with he's going to get a ton of assists.

[mgent]

Just look at Rondo giving Ray these shots. And yet he hates playing with him? C'mon now. Does he hate that Rondo, the PG is telling him what to do?

Yeah, I still feel like that was way overblown.

Ray was responsible for the highest percentage of Rondo's assists, Shaq's probably been the only one close.

I have faith he can still lead the league, but he's gonna have to work harder for them as Pierce and KG prefer to go 1 on 1 or grab the assist themselves.

  KG has as many of his baskets assisted as Ray did.

Read what I said, it's going to require more for him to get as many.  Almost all of KG's baskets from Rondo (at least since 08 when the lobs slowed down) come from Rondo driving it to the basket and dishing out when the defense collapses on penetration.  The ones that don't come from pick and pops/rolls when both defenders are pressuring Rondo.  This is obviously much different than waiting for Ray to curl while he has no pressure from his defender standing 6 feet away.

[BballTim]

Just look at Rondo giving Ray these shots. And yet he hates playing with him? C'mon now. Does he hate that Rondo, the PG is telling him what to do?

Yeah, I still feel like that was way overblown.

Ray was responsible for the highest percentage of Rondo's assists, Shaq's probably been the only one close.

I have faith he can still lead the league, but he's gonna have to work harder for them as Pierce and KG prefer to go 1 on 1 or grab the assist themselves.

  KG has as many of his baskets assisted as Ray did.

Read what I said, it's going to require more for him to get as many.  Almost all of KG's baskets from Rondo (at least since 08 when the lobs slowed down) come from Rondo driving it to the basket and dishing out when the defense collapses on penetration.  The ones that don't come from pick and pops/rolls when both defenders are pressuring Rondo.  This is obviously much different than waiting for Ray to curl while he has no pressure from his defender standing 6 feet away.

  I was responding to your comment about KG going 1v1 a lot. In any case, last year Rondo had 132 assists to PP, 127 to KG and 90 to Ray (regular season), and I'm fairly sure that he led the league in assists for that late season stretch when Ray was out of the lineup. I don't see Ray leaving causing a drop in assists for Rondo.

[Kane3387]

A large part of Ray's value in Boston (and in Miami) is that you have to know where he is at all times, which limits a team's ability to double team other players, and helps space the floor. It worked in Boston and it will work in Miami. If you had the choice between having a player help on a LeBron drive or sticking with Ray, which do you choose? I think most teams are going to opt for the former and leave Ray with open shot after open shot. He won't beat a team by himself, but he will help his team, which is kind of the point of basketball.

Ray is going to hurt us next year if he is healthy. Simple as that. The only thing that can stop Ray is Ray and his 38 year old body trying to play yet another 82 game season. This time coming off surgery. Remember that he is rehabbing more then training this season.

But with Lebron, Wade, and Bosh on the court defenses have bigger fish to fry then Ray Allen. He will get his looks. I am still a little unsold on Spoelstra's ability to utilize Ray the way we did or his desire to do so.